Tuesday 27 August 2013

Dark Chocolate and Amaretto Cake


I have accumulated a lot of baking books of late.  Sometimes they are more of an assault on the eyes, rather than on my taste buds as I flick through them in awe of the pictures.  So I am making it my mission to bake from said new books and temporarily turn my back on my faithful books. 

This one is from the Clandestine Cake Club cook book and contributed by Carmela Hayes.

Well, what a delight to make! First of all, it was super easy with the all in one method (so a lot less washing up… phew!) and a lot of fun crushing the amaretti by hand. I feel like Nigella Lawson here as she goes into such detail over how food feels, looks or sounds… however, I felt very satisfied with the sound of the popping biscuits! Amaretti is a delight.  Crunchy, light and airy, yet still has substance.
 
I have to confess that I didn't use Amaretto (even though we have it in the liquor cabinet) but used the same measurements of almond extract instead.  I made the decision not to use it because I'm very wary of my palette for alcohol in cakes.  The book also doesn’t suggest topping the cake with chocolate or more biscuits, but felt it would turn it into sheer decadence if I did.  The more chocolate the better! So I covered it in milk chocolate as the cake itself had an abundance of dark chocolate in it.  Plus, I prefer licking the bowl of milk than dark chocolate…

This cake is highly recommended for almond addicts.  Super rich, moist and satisfying.  The addition of crushed biscuits is rather different too because I’ve never seen them added to cake mix before.  It turned out brilliantly and makes up for the small amount of sugar added.  The book recommends baking for 40-45 minutes 180 fan, however it only took 30-35 minutes to bake.  Go out and buy the Clandestine Cake Club cook book, you won’t be disappointed!

P.S. has anyone seen Julie and Julia? I watched it yesterday and loved it.  It’s a true story of Julie Powell who cooked/blogged her way through Julia Child’s cook book.

2 comments:

  1. Ooh like the look of the crunchy topping. I definitely prefer licking milk chocolate from the bowl rather than dark.

    I think I've only baked one recipe from the CCC book too (white chocolate and passion fruit cake, yum!) so might have a flick through it again this weekend. Really need to work through more of my baking books!

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  2. Welcome back - I've missed your posts. Lovely bake - comfort in a cake if ever I saw it!

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